Byron Miller

A naturally gifted musician, Byron Miller developed an interest in keyboards at the tender age of 5, but seriously took on playing bass as a high schooler in Detroit. Self-taught, he sat for hours with his bass (often without any amplification) learning his craft. He became so intimately attuned to his instrument that he’d play until he could feel the accuracy of the chords—‘til the vibration of each note of the chords rang true.

His diligence paid off when at 18 years old he was asked to join Roy Ayers Ubiquity, which culminated in three albums and several years of touring. One night in Seattle, Ndugu Chancler, drummer for the Santana Band, invited Carlos Santana to view Miller while he was playing with Ayers. Carlos subsequently recruited Miller to play on his "Amigos" album. The ensuing friendship with Ndugu Chancler was indeed fortunate, as he next introduced Miller to George Duke.

The three of them formed the George Duke Band and Miller feels honored to have appeared on 14 of Duke's albums over the past 20 years. "I learned so much of what I know about production from George, as well as the discipline required to make great music."

Miller has recorded and toured with the Crusaders, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Marvin Gaye ("Final Tour") and Whitney Houston. He subsequently joined Luther Vandross’ band and was a mainstay of his touring unit for 15 years. He’s appeared on some of Vandross’ best selling releases, including "Your Secret Love." Miller and Vandross have teamed up to co-author and arrange a number of tunes. “I’ll Come By”, the title track of Miller’s latest CD, co-written with Vandross was one of the last written by Vandross before his debilitating stroke. Miller recalls the experience as a classic example of Luther’s genius, “He wrote that beautiful song out on a napkin—a napkin! Then we went into my studio, recorded it and loved it!”

Miller reflects, "I've loved playing Luther's music and learned from him a lot about what it takes to write an irresistible melody ". His years with Vandross also resulted in the close friendship of Miller and guitarist Doc Powell.

Having learned his craft by listening to Ron Carter, Charles Mingus, Alfonso Johnson, top Motown session bassist James Jamerson, as well as Chuck Rainey and Stanley Clarke, Byron learned the fundamentals well, while developing his signature style of playing riffs more akin to a lead guitarist. His stylistic play earned the respect of premiere bassists Jaco Pastorius, Ray Brown and Marcus Miller.

Byron recorded a pair of CDs in the 1990's. The first, "Git Wit Me", introduced the full extent of his writing, arranging and producing talents. His second effort, “Until”, recorded on the Discovery label in 1996 contains guest performances by long-time musical friends Gerald Albright , Roy Ayers , George Duke , Everette Harp, Ellis Hall, Josie James, Doc Powell, Patrice Rushen and Kirk Whalum. Whether leading, producing or mixing in the studio, Miller lets other musicians play and use their sensibilities to make the music happen, rather than feel that he needs to control every note.

For the first time, on his latest release, “I’ll Come By” Miller was also able to fully display his skills as a keyboardist. In a superb blend of vocal and instrumental prowess, “I’ll Come By” features Luther Vandross, Rachelle Farrell, Ellis Hall, George Duke and Stanley Clarke. On selected tracks Miller plays every instrument himself.



Always one to stay contemporary and ahead of the game, Miller recently toured with Jennifer Lopez, playing keyboards and bass for her live appearance on NBC’s “Today Show”. He has also played with Chris Brown and Jaheim in recent live appearances, and done sessions with Natasha Benefield and India Arie.



Never content to rest on past accomplishments, Miller has added the dimension of entertainment host and leader of a weekly jam session in an eclectic Southern California supper clubs. “B-Jam”, so-named after its creator and leader is a high energy presentation of stylish, live jazz in an intimate setting. The musicians are top notch professionals, performing in the true tradition of a jam session.



One of his latest and most challenging roles is that of Musical Director. He’s served in this role for comedian Tommy Davidson’s show at the famed Apollo Theatre in Harlem, striving to showcase comedic timing and musical talent. He was also MD for the Armenian Music Awards at the KODAK Theatre in Hollywood in December of 2006 and the 2007 National Association of Music Merchandisers event hosted by Samson Electronics. In recent live performances Miller has headlined at La Va Lee jazz/supper club in Studio City and at Cal State Univ. L.A.’s Intimate Theatre.



Byron Miller is grateful for the illustrious career he’s had thus far, yet he’s currently on a mission to take it to a higher level than ever before. Be on the lookout for him… for certainly, he WILL come by!



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